Our winner this month is Debby from Locust Grove, GA. Debby has some great tips on how to save money by price matching.

Let's hear from Debby:    

1. Did you know that Wal-Mart matches ANY price (not gimmicks like percentages off or buy one get one) in any ad, including groceries? If Kroger has their generic of an item on sale, Wal-Mart will match with their item if it's the same size or qty. So, instead of going to 3 stores, I gather all of my grocery ads (Target, Walgreen's, etc.) and circle the items I need in black marker. Then, I go to my Shopping List. 
2. One thing that has helped me, both in freezer cooking and everyday life is having a pre-printed grocery list. It's an Excel spreadsheet, one page, front and back. I have it divided by aisles in our Super Wal-Mart. On it are all of the items I buy on a regular basis: Jiff Creamy Reduced Fat Peanut butter, 40oz. for example. (This also helps when you send your husband to the store for you and he has NO idea what brand or size to buy, even though you've bought the same thing for the entire 7 years you've been married!) There are also blank rows for all of those "special items" that you buy infrequently. The columns are: quantity, item description/size, Wal-Mart price, price match, and store. 

 

I hang my list on our refrigerator, along with 2 highlighters and a pen. When you run out of something, all you have to do is grab a yellow highlighter, highlight the item and write in the qty. (Even your husband can do this!) When shopping time comes, go thru the ads and find everything you need. If it's a price match item from your ads, grab a blue or pink marker and highlight over it (so the color changes to make it easier to see those when you get to the register!). Write in the price that the ad has and which store. You'll have to show the cashier the ad and the price. It will make checkout easier if you put all of your price-match things on the belt first, that way you don't accidentally miss any! Beware though - many of them don't know how to do it! As soon as she greets you, tell her that you have price matches, that way she can call for help right away! 

 

Doing this helps in several ways:

 

• As you use the last of something, you just highlight it and it's on the list. 
• No more running from store to store! 
• Your husband won't by a tiny jar of expensive peanut butter instead of the massive cheap one that everyone likes! 
• You know right away when a sale is actually a good deal! So any times, I'd see a price in an ad and ASSUME it was a good sale price! NOT! 
• Catching the meats on sale, you can stock up and save BIG!

It takes a little work, but here in Georgia where things are so spread out it takes more time to go to 3 different stores! Not only have I saved as much as 68% on my groceries by price matching, but with the price of gas I've also saved money!

Happy saving!"
 

Price matching is a great idea - especially when you are doing your shopping for cooking day. Knowing your prices can help you save a lot of money.  Thanks for sharing your story with us. Click here to see a sample of the shopping list.

So, how do you make 30 Day Gourmet work for you?  How do you use it to help you deal with a challenge in your life?  How do you use it to help others?  Do you have a funny cooking story to share? Email me at  carol@30daygourmet.com to be entered in our contest.